Women's equality

Status of Women Canada: What we are losing

Status of Women Canada (SWC) is the federal government arm responsible for promoting women's equality…at least it was until recently, when Harper's government eliminated equality from its mandate and cut $5 million out of the operating budget of $11.5 million. That means a 43% cut in operating expenses effective in the fiscal year 2007-2008.

On September 25th , the same day the $5 million cut to Status of Women Canada's operating budget was announced, the federal government announced a $13 billion surplus. According to Canada 's New Government, the cuts to SWC were part of the “fat” that needed “trimming”.

On November 28, the day Status of Women Canada revealed how the 43% cut would be implemented, Bev Oda, Minister responsible for the Status of Women, stated that “We don't need to separate the men from the women in this country.” She added that the entire government was responsible for the development of policies and programs that address the needs of both men and women.

There's one problem: women have not yet achieved equality in Canada . And the federal government obviously hasn't done enough to make equality a reality.

Cutting Status of Women Canada will just make it worse. It will also make the “New Government of Canada” less accountable for its poor results when it comes to women's equality.

On November 28 th , Status of Women Canada revealed how the 40% cut in its operating budget would be implemented. There were no consultation with women's groups and stakeholders. The Standing Committee on the Status of Women, made up of elected Members of Parliament, was not consulted. We understand that a private consultant was hired to assist with the cutting process.

The cuts were cast as “administrative efficiencies”. The exercise was described as “efficiency savings”.

The cuts at SWC

• 61 out of 131 positions are being cut, effective April 1, 2007 . The majority of these positions are held by PSAC members. Pink slips have started arriving at SWC offices across the country.

• The new senior management team is being reduced from 7 to 6. A new Deputy Coordinator position is being created.

• 12 out of 16 regional offices are being closed in the following communities: Vancouver , Saskatoon , Winnipeg , Thunder Bay , Toronto , Hamilton , London , Ottawa , Ste-Foy, Halifax , Charlottetown , St. John's.

• Status of Women Canada's regional presence will be limited to four “points of service”: Edmonton , Ottawa (at Headquarters), Montréal and Moncton.

• Regional office staff will no longer represent SWC on federal councils and other government initiatives. They will no longer have the mandate to liaise with their provincial and territorial counterparts. Their mandate to provide information to the general public will be limited. Their technical assistance to women's groups will be limited to priority groups – Aboriginal and immigrant women.

• Direct funding to women's groups, including the Sisters In Spirit Initiative is not being reduced. However funding is no longer available to women's groups for research and advocacy.

• SWC will now fund for-profit groups. When asked what that meant, Bev Oda told the Standing Committee on the Status of Women that “sponsorships to hold their awards events, to celebrate, to enable their mentorship programs, the gatherings from entrepreneurs on how to improve their businesses.” (Bev Oda, from her appearance in front of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women, October 5, 2006 ).

• Sponsorships or “partnerships” with Canadian Heritage will be required for SWC to produce information and educational material on Women's History Month, December 6 th (the National Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women), the Governor General's Awards in commemoration of the Persons Case, and other commemorative events.

• The Independent Policy Research Fund (PRF) is being eliminated. The PRF was a unique initiative that supported independent (outside government) research on a wide range issues significant to women in Canada . But not just any research – policy research, or research that could be used as a basis for developing and designing policies that have a positive impact on women's equality. In its 10 year existence, the PRF funded and published over 75 studies in both official languages. These studies have been used by policy makers at all levels of government, by universities, in briefs to the Supreme Court of Canada, by women's groups, and by foreign governments and international agencies.

• Relations between the federal government and the provincial and territorial counterparts responsible for the status of women will be limited. Federal leadership and joint F/P/T work such as the recent publication by Statistics Canada entitled Measuring Violence Against Women (published in October 2006) and the National Aboriginal Policy Forum (May 2006) will no longer be possible.

• On the international front, cuts to SWC will limit the government's capacity to intervene on women's economic, social and political equality at the United Nations and other international forum. At a time when there is strong international support for the creation of a UN agency dedicated to coordinating, promoting and advancing women's issues, Canada is doing just the opposite when it comes to its own government machinery.

• SWC will no longer design and develop policies that promote women's equality. The capacity to identify emerging issues that impact on women – like trafficking in women – will be reduced. Their policy work will be limited to supporting departments and central agencies in applying “gender based analysis” when designing and implementing programs.

• And because they will no longer have much to communicate, Status of Women Canada's communications activities will be limited, largely to support for the Minister.

• The federal government's in-house expertise on women's policy issues is being lost.

What the Harper government has done to SWC is an outright betrayal to all Canadians, women and men, who have been working to ensure that systems and programs that promote equality are supported.

SWC staff have worked hard on behalf of all Canadian women from coast to coast to coast. They are program officers, researchers, policy analysts, communications experts, managers, administrative and support staff, and technical staff.

A renewed Status of Women Canada

We won't stand by and watch. We are fighting back. Here is what we want: A renewed Status of Women Canada.